Food cooking and eating – stories and ideas from a passionate foodie

OK. We are very lucky to have a multi award winning restaurant in our little Winchcombe town. And it is justifiably feted. I’ve seen Gus (chef proprietor Marcus Ashenford) more since lockdown than before. He’s usually hidden in his restaurant kitchen – tiny, as often seems to be the case. But he is volunteering delivering fruit and veg from our lovely local greengrocer (and more, as Adam and Clare expand their offering). So are we, so we do spy each other more and more!

Now, a joint venture has begun between No. 5 and No. 4 – Winchcombe Fruit and Veg is literally opposite. You can go on line at www.cotswoldessentials.co.uk to order anything from the shop itself, plus ready to reheat meals cooked by Gus’s fair hand. We had to have a go. Churlish not to?

Here’s how the food comes to you

We had two single meals together for the two of us. Asparagus Walnut Shallots. As it described itself. Yes, a meal in itself for one. And you could add some of your own veg if you wanted. I can recommend a good greengrocer! And that would keep it plant based if you wished.

But we added Venison Sausage Cassoulet. OMG. The combination was stunning. I added some lovely little tomatoes as a sort of half way line. Looks good doesn’t it? Not quite as madly cheffy as you would get at the restaurant. But hey, it’s my take.

You should all try. You can easily live with Gus’s main course on its own. Or use just one between two and add your own bits. But also enjoy one of the veggy bits as a starter or accompaniment. And definitely have a pudding.

This is as good as going out is ever going to get. And certainly that good at the moment…

We cannot wait until tomorrow and trying the slow cooked brisket….

Excited? We are!

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So, here we are on The Wirral, the lovely peninsula across the Mersey from Liverpool. We have this sort of Christmas re-run up back home, for my Sisters birthday. Anyone with a birthday near to Christmas knows how it sometimes gets diluted, but this is a great way of making it a bit separate and fun for everyone.

We were over on the Wirral because our nephew Lee and his lovely girlfriend Em are in their first home there, so we were doing the first visit and doing the birthday celeb too. Lee and Em had recommended the place. Bit worried when I saw how big the place and the car park was- big doesn’t usually go with friendly and good, in my experience? I am glad to report how wrong I was.

Another great thing to see was the range of beers ciders and gins here! We then looked up history on t’internet…and the place is famous for its range and knowledge of whiskies! So, food and drink finding moral support from the management and team here…

And the place was buzzing. This is the post Christmas and new year lull. Pubs and restaurants tend to panic at this stage of the year – or have their own staff parties. The money is in the till, so there is less panic about January being dead…

Not here! Vibrant, smiley, and positively busy. That only happens if you get the atmosphere, food and drink offering spot on.

What do I love about the menu? Daily changes. Celebratory cocktails headlining. Sharing starters. Pub classics available as large and small plates. Ham egg and chips and fish and chips are in this category. Light bites – including sandwiches – even in the evening service. Flexibility and a big choice, it bodes well.

We’d sampled some ciders. And gins and great wine by glass selection. And local beer. We each shared a starter. Pan fried scallops, with ham fritters and pea purée. Pork chipolatas with honey and mustard. Crispy baby squid with sweet chilli sauce. As Em’s grandad often quotes – food must be good if it’s gone that quiet.

We were slightly predictable by our mains choices. 3 pairs of same choices. Cod in beer batter, with mushy peas and chips and tartare sauce. One large and one small. Both disappeared. Often used to be price leader or only take away. I’ve no idea why, as chefs make such a better job of it than having the stuff greasy and flaccid by the time you get it home. It actively smelt beautiful as it was served. And for traditionalists, it hit the spot rather well. I had a tasty bit of very hot cod with the crispy batter. And the chips were first class. I bet they change their oil weekly? The second pair had braised shoulder of lamb with dauphinoise potatoes, carrot mash and gravy. And a few greens, for colour and flavour and being of the season. Nice. And the final two, me and our Lee, had the brave choice Trio of Game – duck breast, venison faggot and confit pheasant breast. Served with fondant potato, celeriac purée and a red wine jus.

You get loads of choice. You get big flavours. You get good wine. And you get a great team, obviously enjoying their work. What’s not to love?

We will be back.

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Sunday, 1:30 booking. Not Sunday lunch though…although we do love a roast. This was the usual evening menu as the pub trade calms before the December storm. Shopping or saving? Not sure. But hey, who’s complaining when the food is as a magical as this?

Kamal is head chef here. I’ve written about his fusion style before. He is Sri Lankan originally. A gentleman who takes the time to come out of the kitchen and chat to the happy customers. And a bit of a alchemist when he is in his domain.

We decided on no starter, and to have two different mains. But an amusee Bouche arrived from chef. Gravadlax with truffle and more. Just look at it! A work of art and a work of taste explosions. Oh. This was shaping well.

Our bouches were amused…

We both had Pheasant in our mains. There are so many shoots around us that the darn side roads are full of escapees. To be honest, anything to reduce their numbers is good news by me. We did our bit by eating a couple!

Mine was a game pie. Hare and Rabbit to add extra flavour to the pheasant. J’s was straight roasted pieces of breast. With roast artichokes to add more excitement. As with all good chefs, the sauces were fantastically concentrated and rich. Vegetables were fabulously crunchy and fresh. And the chips were exactly how they are described in the best cook books. Crispy exteriors but with cloud-like fluffy insides – like you always want and expect the perfect chip to be – but they never are.

The Game Pie

And Roasted Pheasant

And that’s the attention to detail. It definitely went very quiet when we were presented with the dishes. We did try each other’s. I loved the roasted artichokes. And the pheasant itself was juicy, and as gamey as you would wish. Sometimes I have been drily disappointed with all of the white game birds. Ended up like over cooked cheap chicken. Not here, of course.

I do think game, from pigeon to partridge to pheasant really suits a slow cook -personified by a good old English style pie. Just succulence at its best. I ate slower and slower, to both savour and prolong the experience. Jane said I’d shut my eyes reverentially at one point…I do remember it. Rather an other worldly experience, to be fair. Just fab.

Just scrummy…

We couldn’t resist sharing a pud. And very glad we did so…Apple Strudel, with amazing custard sauce, and vanilla ice cream.

We don’t want everyone to know about this hidden gem. It opens properly, from Wednesday Lunch to Sunday afternoon. Chef is looked after because he really does deserve to be.

I have no idea why I’m publicising them! But hey, I’m going to work my way through the menu over the next couple of months. I look forward to seeing you in there. But please, if there is a table served for me, don’t complain that you can’t get in. I saw it first!

Thanks Kamal and Liz. It is so good we have this gem so close to home. It’s not a bad old life.

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Pysgoty – Fish Restaurant. Yes it’s Welsh. There’s a reason for that. We are staying Borth, just north of Aberystwyth. Mid Wales on the coast for the English reading this. We were in this tiny restaurant, in Aberystwyth itself. What a find.

(This is the whole place, and through the door, the tiny Kitchen!)

I do tweet (sorry older people…me and Donald Trump are the older ones who do. Currently he has more followers than me…mainly people panic stricken as to what he might pronounce on next..). I have two hash tags. One is

#INABOL – It’s Not A Bad Old Life

And

#DAGTH – Died And Gone To Heaven

Just had lunch at this amazing place, with our friends T and L and their lovely daughter Rachel.

And I feel compelled to use both hash tags.

The kitchen is a tiny galley. The covers – 14 inside, max, maybe 24 outside. More a cafe than a restaurant. Yes, they have to keep things simple, but it is fish and fish – not fish led, or specialising. Just fish. And more fish. (OK pedants, there was puddings – and cheese…).

Tony and I cannot see another starter once we have seen the word “scallop”. And the other three had grilled mackerel with mango chilli salsa (but with hardly any chilli and some gorgeous deep fried shallot pieces). And crab bruschetta with tomato salsa. We were next to the open galley kitchen so could see the dishes being assembled. In the hatch, we witnessed the build, and the calm way chef told the servers where the dishes were headed. If the kitchen is that small, then calmness is the only positive way to be? I bet some big name chefs could learn a lot from that…

Reverential silence settled over us. Until we started to share. Orgasmic. Exotically fantabulous. Simple but best quality ingredients, cooked with honest excitement. And that appears to be the key to the place.

Mains? Three half lobsters from the bay we were looking out over. And two sets of monkfish with a fragrant tandoori sauce – not too spicy, just very tangibly tasty. Served very simply with saffron rice and salad. Our lobsters came with salad plus the strange Welsh delicacy which is Laver Bread, which added a touch of the ordinary (it is a type of seaweed after all) and made the whole salad a bit extraordinary. Chips or New potatoes – those who had the new spuds were jealous of me. They added a set of new potatoes as a side after a slight mix up with the order. They went too. We sent a few shell bits back. Nothing else.

I was embarrassing myself by thanking chefs already. Profusely. And so well deserved. We did have puddings (you are hugely satisfied but not stuffed at that stage…), and they were all rather good too.

A simple wine list. Great suppliers. Calm and hard working chefs. Lovely serving staff. What’s not to love?

I have said before that I don’t want to write a review in case somewhere becomes too popular. I realise I’m over stating my impact, but honestly, this was one of those occasions.

I hope we do get in again in the future. I did say that I would find it difficult to go to another sea food restaurant from that point onwards.

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What to do to break up a 200 mile journey to your holiday destination? Lunch on the way, of course. And I can think of no better way to start a holiday than in The Glasshouse at The Salutation Inn.

Topsham is well served for food outlets. There’s straight pub grub and many a gastronomic pub. And a lot of restaurants. And this hotel, which converted what would have been the entrance for Carriages in the 1850s. A dead courtyard space has been glazed over to make an indoor outdoor style eating experience particularly pleasant.

There is one item if available on a menu that I find hard to resist. Moule Mariniere. I tend to stop reading as soon as I see it there. These are local, River Exe dwellers. What’s not to love? We only wanted lightish lunches, so J had an open local Devon Ruby beef sandwich. And I just had the starter size of the mussels.

I just wish you could sniff too…

They arrived with the usual aplomb and accompaniments. Lots of bread for mopping up the unctuous liquour. A bit of salt free butter (on a tiny bit of slate – lovely touch). A finger bowl to wash up your stickiness afterwards. And reverential silence as you sniffed the fabulous mixture of garlic, shallot, wine, herbs and samphire. And it’s that level of ingredient that sets this place apart. Samphire – sometimes called Poor man’s Asparagus, (shape not taste, I think), – is just a perfect accompaniment to any fish. Far more expensive than just parsley or similar additions. And it signifies the attitude level of the chefs here. Only the best ingredients are good enough

I am sorry the innovators of the IT world can’t let you scratch and sniff the photos yet. One day. Suffice to say I had to tell our servers that I felt I had died and gone to heaven. Perfect food. They suggested a dry Rose to complement the food, and boy, it did.

The beef wasn’t bad either…actually, it was amazing too. Take a look…

Lovely non rushed service, tight and calm and professional and involved. What a fabulous start to a holiday. We managed to get the last table…book to prevent the potential for missing an absolute treat.

And here’s the other things you shouldn’t miss – the choice of Patisserie fantastical creations, and a beautifully constructed Macchiato – the king of coffees for my taste. A sort of tiny Guinness style concoction, with the head on the Espresso replaced with frothy milk. A fabulous ending…

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It was my sisters big birthday – it had a zero at the end, and that’s as far as I will go! But what do you do when you are recently confirmed as Gluten intolerant? Or even Coeliac?

I am amazed to learn how many people suffer from this auto immune gut inflammation condition. It has many symptoms including bloating diarrhoea, nausea, indigestion, constipation, malabsorption, iron or Vitamin B12 deficiency, fatigue, and more. Just do a search – you will be amazed. And 1/100 suffer from it…which maybe an underestimate. Milder symptoms may lead to misdiagnosis as (e.g.) Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

And you will all know many people who have cut out Gluten as they are intolerant of it. Every supermarket has lots of gluten free products nowadays.

I had a couple of people away on a residential training course with me recently who were Coeliacs. 2 out of the 12 there…

Both said how much easier it was eating out nowadays, and the catering team at the venue really did know what was what.

Which brings me nicely onto our Jean’s birthday bash! She really did want to go out with the family, and had found a restaurant in Liverpool that catered very well for anyone who was Gluten intolerant. It didn’t major on that as its unique difference, but it made it quite clear that they did make sure that their food was suitable for all. I suspect the owner manager might have been a sufferer himself? Also, it is best not to just market as “the gluten free place”, as you might put off ordinary punters? Anyway, they seemed to be doing very well with afternoon tea and bubbles, especially for Baby Showers!

Jam Restaurant (see their website here), was vibrant happy and noisy. The staff were very attentive and helpful, and also seemed to love what they were doing. That doesn’t always happen, as you are probably well aware from your own experience. The menu is light bite, to big appetite to afternoon tea level, to wine bar and snacks. As you can see, we had a grand old time – and a gluten free birthday cake at the end!

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I had a panic text from a family friend last year, on Christmas morning. Claire was helping her daughter to cook Christmas lunch – and they had not a single recipe book in the house with the advice on how to cook the turkey. I managed to send them the entire recipe by text!. If you can text a recipe, then it can’t be so difficult – can it? Here it is, in its entirety:

“Turkey – 14lb, for serving at 1.45, cooked by 1.15, rested before carving. Start at 8.15 with bird at room temperature. Loads of butter and strips of bacon on the breast. First 45 minutes at 220C or 200C for fan oven. Lower to 170 (160 fan). Foil off / peeled back at 12.30. Then lots of basting (every15 mins) to 1.15. Usually takes longer than you think.”

67 words must be a record for a Christmas Turkey recipe! But at least with these timings, you can be confident of the main attraction being OK?

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Cranberry Sauce – enough for Christmas Dinner and Leftovers

300g Fresh Cranberries

Zest and Juice of one Orange

½ Teaspoon each of powdered Ginger; Cinnamon and Ground Cloves

200g caster sugar*

Port

Gently heat cranberries in a saucepan with the orange, spices and sugar. Stir until they ‘pop’ (like popcorn) and the sugar is dissolved. Leave to cool slightly and then add 2-3 Tablespoons of Port.

*Cranberries are bitter and this has a sharp, ‘adult’ flavour so you may wish to add more sugar.

This can be made in advance as it freezes well.

—————————————————————–

Brandy Butter – serves 8 (approx.)

250g Unsalted Butter

250g* Sugar – this can be light or dark soft brown; caster; or icing – or a mixture

5 Dessertspoon of Brandy (or Rum)

Cream the butter by hand with a wooden spoon, electric whisk or food processor until white-ish. Add the sugar a little at a time. *You may find you need less than the suggested amount. I used a mixture of light and dark soft brown sugar and found 200g was sufficient. Add the brandy a spoonful at a time. Add more to taste but not too much as it may separate. If this happens, add more sugar.

This will keep 2-3 weeks in the fridge and also freezes well.

HAPPY COOKING – AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Next – stuffing!!

Stuffings – on Christmas Day

Get the kettle on at 7, and take your turkey out of the fridge. Kettle is for your well-earned cup of tea for getting up early on Christmas Morn. You should have taken the plastic bag containing the giblets out of the turkey, but check again just in case! These bits are excellent to boil up for stock to make real gravy. As you know, I always prefer to do most things from scratch, rather than using too many convenience foods (like gravy browning or stock cubes and the like). It feels easier to control salt, sugar, E numbers, antioxidants, and all the other additives that are in most convenience foods by doing this. It tastes better too.

I have two favourite stuffing’s – Sage and Onion and Apple and Chestnut. I will start with the second one – which may be surprising as you may think chestnuts could be a problem?

1 pack chestnuts (Whole ones are good)

1lb of pork sausage meat

1 large cooking apple (Bramley is best)

1 medium onion

1 beaten egg

Salt and ground white pepper (seems to be better than black peppercorns at not causing problems)

I think this is easiest to make in a food processor, because it will chop the onion and the apple very finely. Peel the onion and apple first and chop them a bit to put into your food processor, and wiz for 10 to 20 seconds to chop them very finely. Add the sausage meat a bit at a time and blend between each addition (say in 5 or 6 portions). Then add the chestnuts, whizz until they still have a bit of texture, then add the egg (which helps to bind it together) and the salt and pepper.

If you prefer Sage and Onion stuffing – here’s how to do that:

Two pieces of white bread

1lb sausage meat

1 dessertspoon of dried sage

1 peeled onion

A squeeze of lemon juice

Salt and ground white pepper

Again, a food processor helps. (This isn’t just to help with getting everything finely chopped to help prevent blockages – I think it helps with flavour enhancing and making a much better gastronomic experience).

If the following sounds too fiddly or tricky – then cook the stuffing separately… but this is how I do it

The best and safest place to cook the stuffing is the breast end of the bird, not the main body cavity. This helps it to cook well – stuffing the body slows everything down. The breast is kept moist by the fattiness of the sausage meat. You need to ease the skin off the breast itself, and you do this easily by easing the skin away from the breast with your fingers and pushing gently You will find it comes apart easily. The middle bit of skin between the two breasts is slightly more of a sinew, and you will need to hook your finger to pull this apart. You can then spoon your chosen stuffing into this cavity. Push it right in and pat it down, making a nice rounded end. Not too tight or skin may crack open. You should seal the end by pushing a couple of cocktail sticks though the skin flaps (but remember to take them out at the end so no-one eats them!) If there is some left over after stuffing the bird, you can put this in an oven proof dish and cook it with foil on top for the last hour before serving.